Interdigitated sealing closure

ABSTRACT

An interdigitated sealing closure utilizing a slider and a toothed core for selectively sealingly closing a sealing strip portion of the sealing closure. The toothed core is arranged for use with a slider omitting the conventional diamond, but permitting selective separation of the interdigitated toothed portions by laterally outwardly directed forces initiated at an untoothed portion of the core strip. The sealing strip is arranged to provide increased sealing force as an incident of laterally outwardly directing forces acting on a fabric strip portion of the device.

United States Patent Brown July 1, 1975 [54] INTERDIGITA' IED SEALING CLOSURE 2,549,051 4/1951 Brown 24/20511 3,711,903 l/l973 Brown......

[76] lnventor: Alexander M. Brown 53 Turm 3 790 992 2 I 74 H 24 I Coach Daytona b Fla- 1 l 9 erz /20 C 320M Primary Examiner-Donald A. Griffin [22] Filed: Aug. 9, 1974 Attorney, Agent, or FirmWegner, Stellman, McCord,

211 Appl. No: 496,136

52 US. 0.... 21/2051 R; 241205.11; 241205.15 R [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl. A441) 19/32; A441: 19/ 10 An interdigitated sealing closure utilizing a slider and [58] Field of Search 150/3; 24/201 C, 205.1 R, a toothed core for selectively sealingly closing a seal- 24/205.l5 R, 205 R. 205.13 D, 205.16 D, ing strip portion of the sealing closure. The toothed 205.13 R, 205.1 1 R, 205.1 1 F core is arranged for use with a slider omitting the conventional diamond, but permitting selective separation {56] References Cited of the interdigitated toothed portions by laterally out- UNITED STATES PATENTS wardly directed forces initiated at an untoothed porl706097 3/1929 X tion of the core strip. The sealing strip is arranged to L79'856 7/1929 R provide increased sealing force as an incident of later- 2061630 "936 R ally outwardly directing forces acting on a fabric strip 2,124,206 7 1933 R portion of the device.

2,385 8l6 10/1945 Krupp 24/205.l5 R X 2,394,732 2/1946 Williams et al. 24/205 R 17 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures 1 INTERDIGITATED SEALING CLOSURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to fasteners and in particular to interdigitating slide fasteners.

2. Description of the Prior Art In my United States Letters Patent 3,711,903, issued Jan. 23, 1973, for a Slide Fastener, I disclose an improved slide fastener utilizing a core strip having interdigitated teeth formed therein in a serpentine slitting operation. A carrier strip is provided about the core strip and is longitudinally slit down to the core strip to provide selective separation of the closure halves. A slider is utilized for interdigitating the core teeth by suitable closing movement of the slider longitudinally along the fastener. The slider is further provided with a diamond which penetrates between the interdigitated teeth to separate them as a result of the movement of the slider in an opposite direction. The slide fastener of said patent comprises a substantial improvement in the slider fastener art, and the disclosures of said patent are incorporated by reference herein.

The following references cited in said patent are generally pertinent to such slide fastener art but do not disclose the improved subject matter thereof: United States Letters Patent 2,061,680 (Sipe); 2,651,091 (Priestley); 2,910,754 (Morin); 3,141,217 (Jones et 21].); 3,389,441 (Heimberger); French Pat. No. 1,519,912; German Pat. Nos. 741,033 and 952,073.

Additional prior art patents cited in a division of the application on which said patent issued are: United States Letters Patent 2,026,754 (Stafford) and 3,608,035 (Frolich). Neither of these patents are pertinent to the method of forming such a slide fastener and do not show the disclosed method of said application.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprehends an improved interdigitated sealing closure providing improved positive sealing while yet permitting facilitated opening and closing of the closure when desired.

The sealing closure of the present invention includes a core strip which is serpentinely slit to define interdigitated teeth and which is joined to a fabric strip. A carrier strip is joined to the upper surface of the core strip and a sealing strip is joined to the underside of the core strip and fabric strip. Both the carrier strip and sealing strip are longitudinally slit whereby the sealing closure may be selectively opened by spacing of the two halves thereof or closed by interdigitation of the teeth securing the carrier strip and sealing strip portions in sealing abutment along the longitudinal slit thereof.

The fabric strip is arranged to provide an improved sealing of the sealing strip portions at the slit as an incident of laterially outwardly directed forces applied to the fabric strip on the opposite sides of the core strip.

The core strip and carrier strips are arranged to lock the slider against upward movement therefrom. The core strip may be undercut along its opposite longitudinally extending sides so as to limit forces by the slider tending to separate the carrier strip from the core strip.

The core strip may be formed integrally with the fabric strip and may include a portion projecting downwardly from the fabric strip to which portion the subjacent sealing strip is joined. The integral formation of the core strip with the fabric strip permits the use of a relatively inexpensive nonwoven fabric or flexible plastic sheet in lieu of the relatively expensive woven and beaded tapes conventionally used in zippers and the like.

Thus, the invention comprehends an improved interdigitated sealing closure which is extremely simple and economical of construction while yet providing the highly desirable advantages discussed above.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an interdigitated sealing closure embodying the invention with portions broken away to facilitate illustration thereof;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged top plan view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical section taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary enlarged vertical section taken substantially along the line 4-4 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 5 is a view generally similar to that of FIG. 1 but illustrating the opening of the sealing closure and further illustrating the use of a second slider.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the exemplary embodiment of the invention as disclosed in the drawing, a sealing closure generally designated 10 is shown to comprise a carrier strip generally designated 11, a core strip generally designated 12, a fabric strip generally designated 13, a sealing strip generally designated 14, and a slider generally designated 15.

Core strip 12 is preferably formed of a relatively hard synthetic resin, such as nylon, polycarbonate, and the like. The core strip, as shown in FIG. 3, is joined to the fabric strip 13, and in the illustrated embodiment, is formed integrally therewith to define an upper portion 16 above the fabric strip 13 and a lower portion 17 below the fabric strip 13. The thusly integral core strip and fabric strip are then serpentinely slit, as best seen in FIG. 2, along a slit line 18 to form a first array of teeth 19 interdigitated with a second array of teeth 20 of opposed longitudinally extending portions of the core strip. As shown in FIG. 2, teeth 19 and 20 may extend fully across the core strip with the slit 18 also extending through the fabric strip 13 whereby the teeth 19 and fabric strip portion 21 define a first integral structure and teeth 20 and fabric strip portion 22 define a second, opposite integral structure. As shown in FIG. 3, the opposite sides 23 of the core strip may be inclined to define an undercut adapted to receive complementary distal end portions 24 of legs 25 of the U- shaped slider 15, as shown in FIG. 4. The spacing between slider portions 24 is substantially equal to the width of core strip 12 so that as the slider is moved along the strip, the slider portions 24 cause an interdigitation of the teeth to the closed arrangement of FIGS. 1 and 2.

Carrier strip 11 is joined to the upper surface 26 of the core strip and has a width greater than the width of the core strip and substantially equal to the spacing between the legs 25 of slider 15, as shown in FIG. 4. Carrier strip 11 is provided with a central longitudinal slit 27 extending fully through the carrier strip down to core strip surface 26. As further shown in F IG. 4, upper surface 26 of the core strip angles upwardly from sides 23 to the carrier strip slit 27 for faciltated guiding of the teeth 19 and 20 into the interdigitated position subjacent the carrier strip.

Sealing strip 14 is joined to the undersurface 28 of core strip lower portion 17 and is provided with a central longitudinal slit 29 which similarly to slit 27 of carrier strip 1], divides the strip into two halves. Lower surface 28 of the core strip portion 17 angles downwardly from sides 23 of the core strip to slit 29 thereby facilitating movement of the teeth 19 and 20 into the interdigitated position relative to the subjacent sealing strip.

Sealing strip 14 effectively defines a U-shaped cross section with the legs 30 disposed to opposite sides of the core strip, as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, the fabric strip 13 extends upwardly along the upper surface of legs 30 in the normal position of the fabric strip. However, when the opposite sides of the fabric strip are pulled outwardly, as shown in FIG. 5, the legs 30 are urged downwardly relative to the core surface 17 thereby causing the sealing strip portions to be forcibly abutted along the slit 29. The forceful abutment is illustrated in FIG. 4 where the downward movement of the fabric 13 is effected by the inturned portions 23 of the slider legs 25 extending between the lower surface 31 of the carrier strip, the core strip surface 23, and the fabric strip 13. Thus, the sealing strip is caused to have increased sealing action as the slider is moved therealong in the closing operation.

As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and S, a pair of teeth are omitted in the arrays of teeth [9 and 20 so as to provide an untoothed portion generally designated 32 of the carrier strip. As shown in FIG. 5, the untoothed portion may be intermediate the opposite ends 33 and 34 of the core strip, and more specifically, may be midway therebetween. The interdigitation of teeth 19 and 20 is effected by movement of the slider from end to end of the sealing closure in the construction of FIG. I. The slider is preferably retained at the preselected portion 32 of the core strip to lock the core strip portions together thereat notwithstanding the absence of the teeth 19 and 20.

When it is desired, however, to open the sealing closure, the slider is moved to one end of the closure, as shown in FIG. 5, and suitable outwardly acting forces are directed against the sealing closure to separate the interdigitated teeth 19 and commencing at the preselected portion 32 until the sealing closure is opened to the desired extent.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a second slider 15' may be mounted on the sealing closure for interdigitating the teeth between mid-portion 32 and end 33, slider 15 being utilized to interdigitate the teeth between preselected portion 32 and the opposite end 34 of the core strip. Where two sliders are thusly utilized, they may both be retained adjacent the untoothed portion 32, as desired.

The ends of the sealing closure may be maintained closed by suitable means, such as clips 35. The clips may serve to limit the movement of the slider and prevent removal thereof from the sealing closure. As will be obvious to those skilled in the art, where it is desirable to move the slider from the sealing closure, the clips may be suitably sized to permit movement of the slider therepast.

The manufacture of sealing closure 10 is extremely simple. The core strip, as indicated above, may be formed integrally with the fabric strip or may be suitably bonded thereto as desired. The integral core and fabric strips are serpentinely slit by means of a conventional vertical press or rolling die effecting the desired cutting thereof into the two complementary portions with each portion of the core strip being effectively positively joined to the corresponding portion of the slit fabric strip.

The sealing strip, as indicated above, is preferably formed of a relatively soft synthetic resin, such as a flexible vinyl urethane elastomer, fluoroplastic resin and the like.

The slitting of the carrier strip and the sealing strip along the longitudinal centerlines thereof is effected preferably immediately upon the bonding of the carrier and sealing strips to the core strip and fabric, thereby permitting the removal of the teeth from the opposite sealing strip portion before the bond therebetween has fully cured.

The carrier strip may be formed of a material different from the material of the sealing strip and preferably may be formed of a somewhat harder material for improved sliding action of the slider therein. Thus, in the preferred embodiment, the sealing strip defines the primary seal thereof. Secondary sealing action may be effected by the carrier strip.

The elimination of the diamond from the slider facilitates the complete sealing of the closure device by eliminating the need for a seal around the diamond as is required in conventional closure constructions wherein a diamond is provided on the slider.

As the preselected untoothed portion of the core strip provides a space to accommodate a small separating element carried by the slider, the invention further comprehends the provision of such a projection on the slider if desired. In the preferred embodiment, however, the slider effects only the closing action with the opening of the sealing closure being effected by a suitable manipulation of the outwardly extending wings 36 of the fabric strip 13.

The sealing closure may be manufactured in continuous lengths, and as the teeth are formed by a serpentine slitting operation, the complementary portions of the sealing closure are accurately complementary throughout the entire extent of each unit.

The sealing closure is adapted to be sealingly closed with minimum force and yet provide positive sealing between the closure halves by the improved arrangement of the sealing strip as discussed above. As low forces are required in the use of the sealing closure, the closure provides long trouble-free life.

The foregoing disclosure of specific embodiments is illustrative of the broad inventive concepts comprehended by the invention.

1 claim:

1. An interdigitated sealing closure comprising:

a carrier strip defined by opposed longitudinally extending portions;

a core strip joined to and underlying said carrier strip and defining complementary opposed longitudinally extending portions provided with arrays of interdigitatable teeth, a first array of said teeth being joined to one of said carrier portions, and a second array of said teeth being joined to the other of said carrier portions;

a slider movable along said carrier and core strips for sequentially interdigitating the opposed teeth of the core strip; and

a resilient sealing strip underlying and being joined to said core strip and including a first sealing strip portion joined to said core strip portion defining said first array of teeth and a second sealing strip portion joined to said other core strip portion defining said second array of teeth, said sealing strip portions defining confronting sealing surfaces in sealing abutment when said core strip teeth are interdigitated, said core strip defining a preselected portion free of teeth permitting the sequential separation of the interdigitated arrays of teeth as an incident of application of opposite outwardly directed forces to said core strip portions commencing at said preselected portion, and said slider maintaining said core strip opposed portions juxtaposed at said preselected portion and thereby maintaining said sealing strip portion sealingly abutting adjacent said preselected portion when said slider is disposed at said preselected portion.

2. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 wherein said preselected portion is spaced substantially from the opposite ends of the core strip.

3. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 wherein said preselected portion is disposed midway between the opposite ends of the core strip.

4. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 wherein said core strip defines undercut longitudinally extending sides and said slider defines opposed inturned portions extending subjacent the undercut sides for preventing upward movement of the slider relative to said core strip.

5. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim I wherein said core strip has a width substantially less than the width of said carrier strip to define longitudinal channels underlying said carrier strip at opposite sides of the core strip, and said slider defined apposed inturned portions received in said channels whereby the slider is prevented from upward movement relative to said carrier strip.

6. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 wherein said sealing strip is U-shaped having upstanding leg portions disposed to opposite sides of the core strip.

7. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 wherein said sealing strip is formed of a material softer than that of said carrier strip.

8. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 including means for preventing separation of the core strip teeth at opposite ends of the core strip.

9. An interdigitated sealing closure comprising:

a fabric strip;

a carrier strip defined by opposed longitudinally extending portions;

a core strip underlying said carrier strip and having an upper portion joined to said carrier strip and a lower portion joined to said fabric strip, said core strip defining complementary opposed longitudinally extending portions provided with arrays of interdigitatable teeth, a first array of said teeth being joined to one of said carrier portions, and a second array of said teeth being joined to the other of said carrier portions, said fabric strip being separated congruently with said teeth to define reinforcing portions of the teeth, said extending substantially laterally from the core strip to define oppositely projecting wing portions;

a slider movable along said carrier and core strips for sequentially interdigitating the opposed teeth of the core strip; and

a resilient sealing strip underlying and being joined to said core strip and including a first sealing strip portion joined to said core strip portion defining said second array of teeth, said sealing strip portions defining confronting sealing surfaces in sealing abutment when said core strip teeth are interdigitated, said core strip defining a preselected portion free of teeth permitting the sequential separa tion of the interdigitated arrays of teeth as an incident of application of opposite outwardly directed forces to said fabric wing portions commencing at said preselected portion, and said slider maintaining said core strip opposed portions juxtaposed at said preselected portion and thereby maintaining said sealing strip portion sealingly abutting adjacent said preselected portion when said slider is disposed at said preselected portion.

10. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said core strip is molded to said fabric strip and includes a portion disposed below said fabric strip joined to said sealing strip.

11. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said sealing strip is U-shaped in cross section having legs disposed to opposite sides of said core strip, said fabric strip overlying said legs and deforming said legs downwardly as a result of laterally opposite outwardly directed forces on said fabric wing portions, thereby forcibly abutting said sealing surfaces of said sealing strip.

12. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said core strip is formed integral with said fabric strip.

13. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said fabric strip is formed of random-laid fiber material.

14. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said slider is removable endwise of said carrier and core strip.

15. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein a second slider is provided being movable along said carrier and core strips for interdigitating teeth of said core strip other than those interdigitated by said first named slider.

16. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said preselected portion of the core strip is disposed intermediate the ends thereof, and a second slider is provided being movable along said carrier and core strip between one of said ends and said preselected portion, the first named slider being movable between the other of said ends and said preselected portion.

17. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said carrier strip is formed of a material harder than the material of said sealing strip.

l l il 

1. An interdigitated sealing closure comprising: a carrier strip defined by opposed longitudinally extending portions; a core strip joined to and underlying said carrier strip and defining complementary opposed longitudinally extending portions provided with arrays of interdigitatable teeth, a first array of said teeth being joined to one of said carrier portions, and a second array of said teeth being joined to the other of said carrier portions; a slider movable along said carrier and core strips for sequentially interdigitating the opposed teeth of the core strip; and a resilient sealing strip underlying and being joined to said core strip and including a first sealing strip portion joined to said core strip portion defining said first array of teeth and a second sealing strip portion joined to said other core strip portion defining said second array of teeth, said sealing strip portions defining confronting sealing surfaces in sealing abutment when said core strip teeth are interdigitated, said core strip defining a preselected portion free of teeth permitting the sequential separation of the interdigitated arrays of teeth as an incident of application of opposite outwardly directed forces to said core strip portions commencing at said preselected portion, and said slider maintaining said core strip opposed portions juxtaposed at said preselected portion and thereby maintaining said sealing strip portion sealingly abutting adjacent said preselected portion when said slider is disposed at said preselected portion.
 2. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 wherein said preselected portion is spaced substantially from the opposite ends of the core strip.
 3. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 wherein said preselected portion is disposed midway between the opposite ends of the core strip.
 4. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 wherein said core strip defines undercut longitudinally extending sides and said slider defines opposed inturned portions extending subjacent the undercut sides for preventing upward movement of the slider relative to said core strip.
 5. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 wherein said core strip has a width substantially less than the width of said carrier strip to define longitudinal channels underlying said carrier strip at opposite sides of the core strip, and said slider defined apposed inturned portions received in said channels whereby the slider is prevented from upward movement relative to said carrier strip.
 6. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 wherein said sealing strip is U-shaped having upstanding leg portions disposed to opposite sides of the core strip.
 7. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 wherein said sealing strip is formed of a material softer than that of said carrier strip.
 8. The interdigitating sealing closure of claim 1 including means for preventing separation of the core strip teeth at opposite ends of the core strip.
 9. An interdigitated sealing closure comprising: a fabric strip; a carrier strip defined by opposed longitudinally extending portions; a core strip underlying said carrier strip and having an upper portion joined to said carrier strip and a lower portion joined to said fabric strip, said core strip defining complementary opposed longitudinally extending portions provided with arrays of interdigitatable teeth, a first array of said teeth being joined to one of said carrier portions, and a second array of said teeth being joined to the other of said carrier portions, said fabric strip being separated congruently with said teeth to define reinforcing portions of the teeth, said extending substantially laterally from the core strip to define oppositely projecting wing portions; a slider movable along said carrier and core strips for sequentially interdigitating the opposed teeth of the core strip; and a resilient sealing strip underlying and being joined to said core strip and including a first sealing strip portion joined to said core strip portion defining said second array of teeth, said sealing strip portions defining confronting sealing surfaces in sealing abutment when said core strip teeth are interdigitated, said core strip defining a preselected portion free of teeth permitting the sequential separation of the interdigitated arrays of teeth as an incident of application of opposite outwardly directed forces to said fabric wing portions commencing at said preselected portion, and said slider maintaining said core strip opposed portions juxtaposed at said preselected portion and thereby maintaining said sealing strip portion sealingly abutting adjacent said preselected portion when said slider is disposed at said preselected portion.
 10. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said core strip is molded to said fabric strip and includes a portion disposed below said fabric strip joined to said sealing strip.
 11. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said sealing strip is U-shaped in cross section having legs disposed to opposite sides of said core strip, said fabric strip overlying said legs and deforming said legs downwardly as a result of laterally opposite outwardly directed forces on said fabric wing portions, thereby forcibly abutting said sealing surfaces of said sealing strip.
 12. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said core strip is formed integral with said fabric strip.
 13. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said fabric striP is formed of random-laid fiber material.
 14. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said slider is removable endwise of said carrier and core strip.
 15. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein a second slider is provided being movable along said carrier and core strips for interdigitating teeth of said core strip other than those interdigitated by said first named slider.
 16. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said preselected portion of the core strip is disposed intermediate the ends thereof, and a second slider is provided being movable along said carrier and core strip between one of said ends and said preselected portion, the first named slider being movable between the other of said ends and said preselected portion.
 17. The interdigitated sealing closure of claim 9 wherein said carrier strip is formed of a material harder than the material of said sealing strip. 